Rangers Should Sit Vincent Trocheck Until He Is Traded

With the NHL resuming play following the Olympic break, the New York Rangers have only four games to play before the trade deadline is upon us. With them already trading their biggest name in Artemi Panarin earlier this month, it seems the next domino to fall will be Vincent Trocheck. He is the Rangers’ most prized asset right now, and they should not be putting him in any games until a trade is made. In this piece, we will go over why the Rangers should hold Trocheck out of the lineup.

They Did The Same Thing With Panarin

Before the Rangers ended up trading Panarin, they held him out of the lineup for “roster management” reasons. This has been done by many teams over the years as a way to keep the player they are going to trade out of the lineup to protect them from injury. They held Panarin out for three games before he was eventually traded to the Los Angeles Kings before the Olympic roster freeze. If the Rangers are going to trade Trocheck, they need to keep him out of the lineup immediately.

They can’t risk him getting injured in any of these four games before the deadline. It was already a risk having him play in the Olympics for Team USA, and it’s not like the Rangers are trying to win these games anyway. Keeping him out of the lineup makes sure he stays healthy when an inevitable trade occurs, and it makes the Rangers’ lineup worse, which is what they want as they are trying to get a top pick in the upcoming draft.

Trocheck Has Nothing to Prove to Other Teams

Sometimes, teams will continue to ice the players they want to trade in order to show other teams what they can bring if they trade for them. With Trocheck, he has nothing to prove, and any team that wants to bring him in already knows the kind of player he is. He is a legit top-six center who can win faceoffs almost better than any other center in the league. He can play on the power play and the penalty kill and is effective in both of those roles.

Trocheck has performed well in the playoffs, with 17 goals scored and 37 points recorded in 56 games played, 20 of those points coming in his last playoff run with the Rangers. He can also now say he is an Olympic gold medalist and was a key part of Team USA’s penalty kill throughout the tournament alongside teammate J.T. Miller. So, Trocheck has no reason to play in these games to prove himself because teams know who he is and what he can bring if they acquire him.

Rangers Can’t Risk Their Most Valuable Asset

When the Rangers announced they were going through this retool, it became clear that some of the veterans were going to be traded sooner rather than later. With Panarin, the return for him seemed underwhelming because he had full control over which team he wanted to go to. With Trocheck, while he does have modified trade protection in his contract, he doesn’t have full say over what team he gets traded to. This means there is going to be a bidding war for his services, which makes him the Rangers’ most valuable trade asset.